Dog which killed baby girl in Daventry was an illegal breed

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Published:12:14Friday 10 October 2014

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The dog which killed a six-month-old girl in Daventry last week has been confirmed as an illegal breed.

The baby girl was confirmed dead shortly after the attack at her mother’s home in Morning Star Road on the night of Friday, October 3.

Morning Star Road in Daventry

At the time of the attack, she was being cared for by her maternal grandmother who suffered bite injuries attempting to protect the baby.

The dog was destroyed by vets at the scene.

A post-mortem examination carried out at the Royal Veterinary College with the assistance of dog legislation officers from Northamptonshire Police and elsewhere showed that the dog was an American pit bull, a prohibited breed under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act.

A statement from Northants Police said: “This continues to be a complex and highly unusual investigation which has required significant resource within the force and drawn on national expertise in the area of dangerous dogs.

“But at the heart of it is a baby girl whose life has tragically been taken away in the most horrific of circumstances.

“In addition to our ongoing investigation, we have been concentrating our efforts on providing support for a grieving family who have been left devastated by this.

“Daventry itself is a very small and peaceful town and the community has undoubtedly been deeply affected by what happened last Friday.

“Incidents such as these are, thankfully, extremely rare in this country.

“Community leaders have reflected their sense of shock this week while Northamptonshire Police has been getting on with the investigation in hand.

“We would like publicly to thank everyone who attended in whatever capacity for the professionalism shown and the efforts made to save the baby girl’s life.”

An inquest will be formally opened by the Northamptonshire Coroner on Wednesday, October 15.

The case has also been referred to the LSCBN Serious Case Review Committee in November which will then consider it for independent scrutiny by the Local Safeguarding Children Board Northamptonshire.